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but is also interspersed with Pinyon-Juniper Woodland on gentle slopes. The <br />dominant plants of Pinyon-Juniper Woodland and Big Sagebrush Shrubland are <br />presented in Table J-1. <br />Annual production of grass and shrub species for these vegetation types, as <br />reported in LGL (1981), was approximately 283 kg/ha for grasses and 160 <br />k9/ha for shrubs in Big Sagebrush Shrubland. For Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, <br />annual grass production was approximately 29 kg/ha, and an annual production <br />was approximately 10 kg/ha. These estimates are somewhat lower than values <br />reported from adjacent tracts of oil shale land (LGL 1981). Specific values <br />for the area and shown on Table J-2. <br />The BLM assessment of the Square S grazing unit indicates that none of the <br />land near IRI's projEact is in good grazing condition9. Only 54 percent was <br />in fair condition, and 46 percent was in poor condition (BLM 1980). The <br />vegetation mapping units, associated range sites and soils, estimated <br />percent cover, and relative productivity are presented in Table J-3. <br />The only vegetation types affected by the proposed operation would be <br />Pinyon-Juniper and Big Sage Shrubland. Neither of these types provide <br />significant amounts of forage and, furthermore, due to the limited extent of <br />proposed mining operation (13.9 acres), the lost forage production is <br />minimal. <br />There are no hay meadows or other agricultural lands that will be affected <br />by the proposed project, therefore no estimate of their relative <br />productivity has been given here. <br />Suitable habitat for federal- or state-listed threatened or endangered <br />species was not observed during the 1983 field reconnaissance, nor during <br />the stuaies cc+ad.ucted by LGL. <br />r~ <br />U <br />J-3 <br />